Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on AT&T (NYSE:T)

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 237,072 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 219% compared to the average volume of 74,379 call options.

AT&T Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of T stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $27.65. 3,764,808 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,348,506. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $27.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.24. AT&T has a 12-month low of $18.14 and a 12-month high of $29.19. The stock has a market cap of $198.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). AT&T had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 9.64%. The firm had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. AT&T's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that AT&T will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. AT&T's payout ratio is currently 68.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $31.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $31.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.05.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at $1,858,418,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 1st quarter valued at $1,072,128,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AT&T by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 96,779,385 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,203,667,000 after acquiring an additional 26,280,866 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,432,827 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,216,665,000 after buying an additional 12,881,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 30,527.5% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 11,959,440 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $338,213,000 after buying an additional 11,920,392 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

About AT&T

AT&T, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of telecommunications and technology services. It operates through the Communications and Latin America segments. The Communications segment offers wireless, wireline telecom, and broadband services to businesses and consumers located in the US and businesses globally.